18 B I 19 The City of London The City is London’s most ancient quarter and a global fi nancial centre that has been closely connected with international trade and commerce for 2,000 years. The tightly built ‘Square Mile’ of small streets, crooked alleys, squares, courts, churches, civic buildings, o ces and high rises stretches from the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand (Temple Bar) to Aldgate in the east and from the Thames in the south to City Road in the north. ondon fi rst became a port of wealth and prominence under Roman occupation ( 43–410). In the 2nd century, the L TOWER OF Romans built a towering defence wall around LONDON the City, 20ft high and 8ft wide, as impressive HOUSES OF as Hadrian’s Wall in the North. It formed the PARLIAMENT foundations for the medieval city wall that was restored by King Alfred in the 9th century and remained standing until the 18th and 19th cen- turies. The legacy of this wall is that it loosely defi nes the perimeters of the City to this day and signifi cant remains may still be seen at Tower Hill, the Barbican and on the modern road called London Wall. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, William the Conqueror built three mighty for- tresses in the City to subdue its citizens (the Tower, o cially outside the City’s limits, is the only one that remains). However, William also recognised the City’s value to the wealth of the country and approved a London charter which upheld previous Saxon rights and privileges. In the 12th century, the City was granted the autonomy of self government, a privilege that continues today. Many of the City’s grand livery compa- nies (see overleaf) were founded in the 12th–13th centuries. By the 15th century the City was home to fl ourishing trading fi rms and in 1600 the great East India Company was established. In 1565, Sir Thomas Gresham founded the Royal Exchange, opened by Elizabeth I. The Plague of 1665 reduced the population by one fi fth and then in 1666 the Great Fire razed fi ve-sixths of the medieval city to the ground, destroying 86 out of 107 parish churches and the halls of 44 livery companies. Although the chief architect, Christopher Wren, wished to restructure along more planned, Enlightenment lines, the urgent need to rebuild meant that the City was re-erected over its medieval foot- print, within the outline of the old Roman walls. CITY OF LONDON After the Fire many wealthy inhabitants moved west, but the City remained a great Sir Norman Foster’s Swiss Re Building (the ‘Gherkin’, 30 St Mary Axe) commercial centre. The Bank of England was founded in 1694 and this and other looms above the façades of an earlier era. 28 The City of London Blackfriars 29 blackfriars & ludgate hill Map p. ???, ??. Underground: Blackfriars. Blackfriars, the southwest corner of the City, occupies the area around Blackfriars Station, a major terminus with entrances on both the north and sound sides of Blackfriars Bridge. Blackfriars Millennium Pier is a stop for river bus services. Blackfriars takes its name from the Dominicans, who wore black habits and who estab- lished extensive monastic buildings between the Thames and Ludgate Hill. Edward I granted them the land in 1274 and allowed them to rebuild the City Wall around this area. It was customary in medieval cities for the two mendicant orders to set up houses close to the city walls. Thus the Dominicans were at Blackfriars, near Ludgate and the mouth of the Fleet river, while the Franciscans (Greyfriars) occupied the areas around Newgate and Aldgate. The Blackfriars buildings were used for state occasions and meetings of the Privy Council. A synod here in 1382 condemned Wycliffe’s teaching as heretical. It was also here that a decree of divorce was heard between Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon. The friary was closed in 1538, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries blackfriars lane and carter lane Queen Victoria Street, a wide thoroughfare created in 1867–71, sliced through many ancient streets and alleys and as a result created wedge-shaped sites on which trian- gular buildings were built. One of the last remaining is the black friar pub, opposite the station on the corner of New Bridge Street. The sculpture over the main door is of a rotund, black-robed friar smiling beatifically down on passing traffic. Built in the 1870s, the pub has a unique Arts and Crafts interior dating from 1905 (restored 1983) of polychrome marble slabs and beaten bronze bas-reliefs of jolly friars at work. In the restaurant, there are red marble columns, an arched mosaic ceiling and further decorative figures. From the pub, cross under the railway bridge and immediately on the left is Blackfriars Lane, leading into Playhouse Yard, where Richard Burbage’s theatre once queen victoria street stood. Further up Blackfriars Lane on the right is the apothecaries’ Hall, dating Detail of the decoration of the Black Friar pub. partly from the 1660s, partly from the 1780s. It is built on the site of the friary guest house. Carter Lane, off Blackfriars Lane to the right, is an atmospheric street of mainly DOMINI NOSTRI JESU CHRISTI / PER QUEM MIHI MUNDUS CRUCIFIXUS EST pre-20th-century buildings with narrow alleys leading off it. It has so far managed to ET EGO MUNDO’ (But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord escape development and is favoured by TV crews when a location redolent of yester- Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world). year is required. The former st Paul’s choir school (F.C. Penrose, 1874–5) at the In Dean’s Court itself, the former st Paul’s deanery (1672) was designed by Wren. end of the street on the left, on the corner of Dean’s Court, has been a youth hostel The two-tone red-brick façade, with sash and dormer windows, is a vision of restrained since 1975. The neo-Renaissance building is reminiscent of an Italian palazzo and elegance. John Donne, when Dean, lived in the earlier house on the site. Since 1996, would not look out of place amongst the buildings commissioned by Prince Albert in it has been the official residence of the Bishop of London. From here you can either South Kensington. The sgraffito Latin frieze running along the first storey is from St continue up Dean’s Court to St Paul’s (see p. ???) or, from Carter Lane, go down Addle Paul’s letter to the Galatians, 6:14 ‘MIHI AUTEM ABSIT GLORIARI NISI IN CRUCE Hill and then Wardrobe Terrace to reach the church of st andrew-by-the-Wardrobe 88 The City of London Eating and Drinking in the City 89 The organ, one of the oldest in the country, was a gift from Thomas Whiting in 1676 and is attributed to Renatus Harris (see p. ???). Thomas Bray, founder of the SPCK co.uk. Map p. ???, ??. able pizza, salads and pasta dishes. and SPG, was vicar here from 1708–22. William Symington, pioneer of steam naviga- Jamaica Wine House. Originally Swift, efficient service. Decent wine. tion who built the Charlotte Dundas, died here ‘in want’ in 1831 and is buried in the a coffee house, now a pub known Open at weekends. Close to the church (tablet on west wall). In the south aisle is a finely carved panel of David playing familiarly as the ‘Jampot’, a popular Barbican. 125 Alban Gate, London the harp which, together with the lectern, dates from the early 18th century. Jeremy City lunch spot. Downstairs at Todd’s Wall. T: 020 7600 8880, pizzaexpress. Bentham was christened here in 1747. The fine peal of eight bells was cast in the 18th Wine Bar you can sit over a full meal com. Map p. ???, ??. century at Whitechapel bell foundry (see p. ???). Daniel Defoe was married here in or a trencher of tapas. Good wine list. The Ship. Tiny old pub in Hart St (see 1683: he mentions Aldagte and its church frequently in his Journal of the Plague Year. Closed weekends. St Michael’s Alley p. ??? for details). Map p. ???, ??. (off Lombard St). T: 020 7929 6922. Simpson’s Tavern. ‘The oldest chop Map p. ???, ??. house in London’, in business since The Mercer. Angels on horseback, 1757 and still serving traditional eating and drinking in the city bubble and squeak and spotted dick? English food (roast beef and yorkshire If your mouth begins to water, then pudding, Lancashire hot pot, ham During the working week, the City is a hubbub of activity. Bars and restaurants the Mercer is for you. Large, airy with parsley sauce). Open Tues–Fri are crowded and lively at lunchtime and the streets are filled with cafés and sand- space serving good old British scran. for breakfast and lunch, Mon lunch wich bars. Getting fed is not a problem. The situation is less easy at weekends: Lunch and dinner. Closed weekends. only; closed weekends. Ball Court (off the streets are more tranquil and better for sightseeing, but the weekday work- 34 Threadneedle St. T: 020 7628 0001, Cornhill). T: 020 7626 9985, simpson- ers’ watering holes are shut. The list below includes traditional weekday haunts themercer.co.uk. Map p. ???, ??. stavern.co.uk. Map p. ???, ??. as well as a handful of places that cater to weekenders. New Street Wine Shop. A wine Sweetings. Classic fish restaurant, ‘shop’, technically, but big wooden in business since 1889.